If you’re in the market hunting around for the best gaming monitor, you could not have picked a better time to do so. High-refresh-rate 1080p monitors are cheaper than ever, we have a couple of OLEDs in the mix, and there are plenty of 360Hz monitors that offer quite the competitive edge. Amidst all that, you now have monitors that offer a whopping 540Hz refresh rate.

CES 2024 showcased a lot of incredible gaming monitors, and high refresh rates were the star of the show. However, while 540Hz monitors might be better on paper, is such a refresh rate beyond the point of diminishing returns? A bunch of these monitors are now hitting the market, and you should know what they have to offer if you’re having the slightest thought about buying one.

The tech behind 540Hz monitors

Blazing-fast TN panels and liquid crystal magic

A 540Hz refresh rate is significant, but it means nothing without low response times. For monitors such as the ASUS PG248QP, the liquid crystals inside the TN panel have to move 540 times per second to produce a 540Hz refresh rate. To achieve this, manufacturers have to make improvements to the way liquid crystals work. For example, ASUS made the gap between the electrodes smaller so that the liquid crystal could move quicker.

Putting all that together, the PG248Q has a gray-to-gray response time of 0.2ms. On top of that, a 540Hz monitor can produce new frames every 1.85ms. In comparison, the time between frames for a 144Hz monitor is 6.94ms. With a higher refresh rate, the frame time is shorter. This reduces motion blur and gives you smoother and more responsive visuals.

The latest and greatest monitors will also use new Nvidia features such as G-sync Pulsar to improve visual fidelity and reduce screen tearing, ghosting, and motion blur.

Is current hardware ready for 540Hz monitors?

A high-end monitor demands a high-end PC

For now, all the new 540Hz monitors are using a 1080p resolution. This is because even the best graphics cards can’t achieve such frames at a higher resolution. To put it simply, the hardware is not ready for it. With that being said, a lot of professional esports players play at a lower resolution for the best possible performance. Usually, this resolution is 1080p on a 24-inch monitor.

In a lot of esports titles such as Counter-Strike 2, GPUs like the RTX 4090 are certainly capable of producing a monstrous number of frames. Of course, you’d have to drop to lower settings to achieve anywhere near 540FPS, but ultra-competitive players won’t mind doing so.

Let’s get back down to reality for a bit though. For a lot of people, affording an RTX 4090 won’t be easy. The graphics card alone would cost you more than $1600, and a PC that justifies such a card will also cost several thousand dollars. Factoring in a top-tier gaming monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headset, it’s a fast way to get an empty wallet.

If you only play competitive esports titles such as DOTA 2, your rig might be capable of pushing 540FPS. However, if you also play single-player games like Cyberpunk 2077, anything beyond 144Hz isn’t worth it as achieving such high frames won’t be possible without significantly lowering the resolution or settings.

Does a 540Hz monitor make a difference?

Lower frame times lead to smoother motion

So, hardware that justifies a 540Hz monitor is expensive. But let’s say that you’re able to afford it. Will upgrading to 540Hz make you a better gamer? Well, not exactly. If you’ve ever upgraded from 60Hz to 144Hz, the difference is night and day. The time between frames for a 60Hz monitor is 16.67ms, and for a 144Hz monitor, it’s 6.94ms. That’s a whopping difference of 9.73ms.

However, if you upgrade from 144Hz to 240Hz, the difference in time between frames drops to 2.77ms. At that point, you’re reaching a point of diminishing returns. Sure, the visuals will be smoother and more responsive, but some people won’t be able to feel the difference. With that logic, anything beyond 240Hz is likely not worth it for most people.

Speaking of latency, 540Hz monitors will have lower latency even if you’re only getting sub-240fps. While some might say this improves the gaming experience, you’d have to perceive the lower input lag or latency to really tell the difference. This idea is grasping at straws, and if your PC can’t achieve such high frames, you’re better off with a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor.

To answer the question, while 540Hz does make a difference, it won’t make you a better gamer. The lower frame time is nice, but the reduction is so subtle that most people won’t be able to perceive it. In non-gaming use, animations and scrolling will be smoother on paper, but you likely won’t notice much of an improvement in reality.

Image quality and cost

Performance or visual fidelity

Professional or ultra-competitive gamers focus on higher framerates and are willing to sacrifice everything else. They’re fine with lowering resolutions and visual settings — all for the sake of minimal input lag and higher frames. These sacrifices certainly give them a competitive edge, but you don’t need that for an enjoyable experience.

If you really care about a buttery smooth experience, you can get yourself a high refresh rate IPS monitor that will give you a better image. TN panels might be capable of pushing higher refresh rates for now, but IPS panels will have better brightness, color reproduction, and viewing angles. Most modern IPS monitors also have response times as good as many TN panels.

For most people, a 144Hz or 240Hz IPS monitor is the perfect balance of a buttery smooth gaming experience and great image quality. They're also more affordable than 540Hz displays, and you don't need to sacrifice image quality for the sake of higher framerates.

540Hz monitors aren’t worth the trouble

Higher refresh rates are certainly exciting, but 540Hz monitors feel more like a proof of concept rather than a practical addition to your setup. These displays might be worth it when they get more affordable and PC hardware is capable of achieving higher framerates. Until then, most people should spend their money on upgrades elsewhere.